Guangzhou, China, Sinkhole Swallows Buildings

A gigantic sinkhole in Guangzhou, China, opened up near a subway construction site, swallowing a building complex Wednesday. The sinkhole was about 3,230 square feet wide and 30 feet deep, according to reports. No casualties were reported, but about 300 residents who lived nearby were evacuated. Nearly 3,000 homes were without power because buildings took down power lines as they collapsed into the sinkhole.

The blog Shanghaist reported that the sinkhole was still expanding and that five shops fell into the hole. Another building was "torn apart from top to bottom," Shanghaist said. Videos of the collapse were posted all over the Internet showing the buildings crumbling into the ground while passersby shrieked at the sight. Online commenters were suggesting that the subway construction caused the sinkhole to open, saying overdevelopment in the area was making the land unstable.

Guangzhou has seen sinkholes like this before. Another sinkhole opened up in 2004 on the same road, also reportedly caused by underground construction, according to the International Business Times. Though on a much smaller scale, the incident reminds us of a woman in Florida last year whose home fell into a sinkhole while she was out running errands.